Fire suppressant device and method, including expansion agent

ABSTRACT

A device for suppressing and/or extinguishing a fire associated with a container may include a housing defining a hollow sleeve and a column configured to be received within the hollow sleeve. The column may define a first chamber, a second chamber, at least one aperture, and a piercing end configured to pierce a barrier. The first chamber may be configured to receive an expansion agent, and the second chamber may be configured to receive a fire extinguishing agent. The device may be configured such that upon activation of the expansion agent, the column extends from the housing so as to enable the piercing end to penetrate the container and to enable the fire extinguishing agent to be delivered into an interior of the container via the at least one aperture.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e)of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/784,448, filed on Mar. 22, 2006,the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to devices and methods for suppressingand/or extinguishing a fire. In particular, the present disclosurerelates to devices and methods for suppressing and/or extinguishing afire associated with a container.

BACKGROUND

In some instances, it may be difficult to suppress and/or extinguish afire due to the nature of the location of the fire. For example, a fireassociated within an interior of a container may be difficult tosuppress and/or extinguish because it may be difficult to deliver aneffective extinguishing agent to the location of the container and/or itmay be difficult to deliver an effective extinguishing agent to theinterior of the container, so that the extinguishing agent may beapplied to the fire.

An example of a fire that may be difficult to suppress and/or extinguishdue to the nature of the location of a fire may include fires associatedwith cargo. For example, cargo fires on board freighter aircraft may beintrinsically dangerous and/or difficult to extinguish because, forexample, access to the cargo area may be restricted or impractical oncethe cargo has been positioned within the freighter aircraft.

For example, the airfreight industry uses containers and pallets, whichare sometimes generically referred to as “Unit Load Devices” or “ULDs,”to consolidate and ship freight. Such containers, for example, may beconstructed of various materials, such as aluminum, fiberglass, and/orother suitable materials. Such containers, when loaded into freighteraircraft, enclose and restrain the freight. Furthermore, such containersmay include features configured to engage retractable locks located in,for example, an aircraft floor cargo handling system, which may providedesirable fore-aft, lateral, and/or vertical restraint during ground andflight operations.

Cargo containers may be typically loaded in “sticks” of two (i.e., twocontainers are placed across the width of the cargo area, such as afreighter aircraft fuselage). An example of a typical container widelyused is designated “AMJ” under National Aerospace Standard 3610. An AMJdefines a roughly. rectangular box having an upper edge on one side thatmay be chamfered or curved, for example, to follow the cross-sectionalgeometry of an aircraft fuselage. The AMJ has a base dimension of about125 inches long by about 96 inches wide, and a height dimension of about96 inches (i.e., on the non-chamfered/non-curved side). Other containersare known to those skilled in the art, and perhaps two-dozen containersof differing sizes are commonly used.

Once loaded into the cargo area of a freighter aircraft fuselage, onlythe most forward containers may be accessible to flight crews. Even themost forward containers, however, may permit only limited accessthereto. If a fire were to occur in a container aft of the forwardcontainers, there may be no practical way to manually deliver afire-extinguishing agent to the fire.

One possible option would be to install a fixed, automatically-actuated,bottle-type fire suppressant device in each container. Due to high cost,high weight, and/or maintenance considerations, it may be impractical toinstall such devices in each container. In particular, an airfreightoperator may have many thousands of containers in inventory at any onetime. Furthermore, according to a common industry practice sometimesreferred to as “interlining,” airfreight operators temporarily shareand/or exchange containers. Such a practice might lead to a lack ofcargo protection, for example, for instances in which an airfreightoperator borrows containers from another airfreight operator who doesnot install such devices.

Another possible option would be to install pyrotechnic gas generatordevices or cartridges in each container. Pyrotechnic gas generatordevices may provide a lightweight and efficient method of suppressingand/or extinguishing container fires. The installation of such devicesin each container, however, may be undesirable for a number of reasons.For example, these devices may be prohibitively expensive in light ofthe large number of containers involved. Furthermore, cargo containersmay often be exposed to shocks, vibrations, and/or temperature extremesfor extended periods of time. Such exposure could result in damage tothe devices, such as, for example, cracks in the propellant. Such damagemight render such devices dangerous and/or ineffective.

For these and other reasons, there is a need for alternative approachesthat may overcome one or more of the above-outlined drawbacks with theoptions described above.

One subject of the invention relates to suppressing and/or extinguishinga fire associated with a container located where manual application of afire extinguishing agent may be impractical. A further subject of theinvention relates to suppressing and/or extinguishing a fire associatedwith a container that does not require locating a fire extinguishingdevice within the container. Yet another subject of the inventionrelates to suppressing and/or extinguishing a fire associated with acontainer located in a cargo area. Still a further subject of theinvention relates to suppressing and/or extinguishing a fire associatedwith a container by delivering a fire extinguishing agent to theinterior of the container. A further subject of the invention relates tosuppressing and/or extinguishing a fire associated with a container thatdoes not unduly hinder processes associated with moving the containerinto a cargo area.

The invention may seek to satisfy one or more of the above-mentionedsubjects. Although the present invention may obviate one or more of theabove-mentioned desires, it should be understood that some aspects ofthe invention might not necessarily obviate them.

SUMMARY

In the following description, certain aspects and embodiments willbecome evident. It should be understood that the invention, in itsbroadest sense, could be practiced without having one or more featuresof these aspects and embodiments. It should be understood that theseaspects and embodiments are merely exemplary.

In one aspect, as embodied and broadly described herein, the inventionincludes a device for suppressing and/or extinguishing a fire associatedwith a container. The device may include a housing defining a hollowsleeve and a column configured to be received within the hollow sleeve.The column may define a first chamber, a second chamber, at least oneaperture, and a piercing end configured to pierce a barrier. The firstchamber may be configured to receive an expansion agent and the secondchamber may be configured to receive a fire extinguishing agent. Thedevice may be configured such that upon activation of the expansionagent, the column extends from the housing so as to enable the piercingend to penetrate the container and to enable the fire extinguishingagent to be delivered into an interior of the container via the at leastone aperture.

According to another aspect, a cargo vehicle may include a deviceconfigured to suppress and/or extinguish a fire associated with a cargocontainer associated with the cargo vehicle. The device may include ahousing mounted in the cargo vehicle in the vicinity of a cargocontainer. The housing may define a hollow sleeve. The device mayinclude a column received within the hollow sleeve. The column maydefine a first chamber, a second chamber, at least one aperture, and apiercing end configured to pierce a barrier. The first chamber may beconfigured to receive an expansion agent and the second chamber may beconfigured to receive a fire extinguishing agent. The device may beconfigured such that upon activation of the expansion agent, the columnextends from the housing so as to enable the piercing end to penetratethe container and to enable the fire extinguishing agent to be deliveredinto an interior of the container via the at least one aperture.

According to yet another aspect, a method for suppressing and/orextinguishing a fire associated with a container may include providing adevice including a housing, a column configured to extend from thehousing, an expansion agent, and a fire extinguishing agent. The methodmay further include activating the expansion agent such that the columnextends from the housing, and delivering the fire extinguishing agent toan interior of the container.

Aside from the structural and procedural arrangements set forth above,the invention could include a number of other arrangements such as thoseexplained hereinafter. It is to be understood that both the foregoingdescription and the following description are exemplary only.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are incorporated in and constitute a part ofthis specification. The drawings illustrate exemplary embodiments and,together with the description, serve to explain some principles of theinvention. In the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a schematic, partial section view of an exemplary embodimentof a device for suppressing and/or extinguishing a fire;

FIG. 2 is a schematic, partial exploded view of portions of theexemplary embodiment depicted in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3A is a schematic, partial section view of portions of theexemplary embodiment depicted in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3B is a schematic, partial exploded view of the portions depictedin FIG. 3A;

FIG. 4 is a partial, schematic section view of the exemplary embodimentof FIG. 1 depicted during operation; and

FIG. 5 is a schematic, partial cutaway view of the exemplary embodimentdepicted in FIG. 1 located in an exemplary vehicle.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT

Reference will now be made in detail to an exemplary embodiment of theinvention. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in thedrawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.

According to the exemplary embodiment depicted in FIGS. 1-4, a device 10for suppressing and/or extinguishing a fire includes an actuator 12. Thedevice 10 may be provided in areas that may render it at least somewhatimpractical to manually deliver a fire extinguishing agent. For example,such a device 10 may be positioned in the vicinity of a container, suchthat it may be activated and deliver fire extinguishing agent to thecontainer (e.g., to the interior defined by the container). For example,one or more such devices 10 according to exemplary embodiments may belocated in the vicinity of (e.g., mounted over) one or more cargocontainers located in a cargo area of an aircraft. Such devices 10 maybe located, for example, in the main deck and/or lower deck of anaircraft, although other locations and/or applications are contemplated,such as, for example, use in other cargo vehicles, such as trucks,trains, and ships.

As schematically-depicted in FIG. 1, the exemplary embodiment of theactuator 12 includes a main housing 14. The main housing 14 may define ahollow cylinder 16 having an end wall 18 at one end and an opening 20 atan opposing end. The hollow cylinder 16 may be provided with aguide/stop 22 located within the hollow cylinder 16 adjacent the opening20. The guide/stop 22 may be retained in the hollow cylinder 16 with,for example, a retainer 24 (e.g., a snap ring). The main housing 14 maybe provided with one or more mounting lugs 26 configured to permit thedevice 10 to be mounted in a desired location. Alternatively, or inaddition, other structures may be provided to permit appropriatemounting of the device 10.

The hollow cylinder 16 of the main housing 14 may be configured toreceive a column 28. As schematically-depicted in FIG. 2, the exemplaryembodiment of the column 28 defines an expansion chamber 30 and anextinguishing agent chamber 32. The expansion chamber 30 is configuredto receive, for example, an expansion agent 34 (e.g., a pyrotechniccharge), and the extinguishing agent chamber 32 is configured to receivea fire extinguishing agent 36 (e.g., a fire extinguishing pyrotechniccharge). The expansion agent 34 and/or the fire extinguishing agent 36may be contained within an expansion agent cartridge 38 and a fireextinguishing agent cartridge 40, respectively. The fire extinguishingagent 36 may include a pyrotechnic charge configured to generate a firesuppressant when ignited.

The column 28 may define a piercing end 42 configured to pierce abarrier, for example, a wall of a container. The column 28 may alsoinclude one or more apertures 44 and/or baffles 46 configured to permitdelivery a fire extinguishing agent therethrough. For example, column 28may be provided with one or more rows of baffles 46, which extend atleast partially (e.g., fully) around the column 28.

At an end 48 of the column 28 opposite the piercing end 42, the column28 may define a threaded portion 50 on either the interior or exteriorsurface of the column 28. The end 48 may be configured to receive apiston end cap 52, which may be provided with a threaded portion 54configured to engage the threaded portion 50 of the column 28. Thepiston end cap 52 is configured to close and seal the end 48 of column28.

As schematically-depicted in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the exemplary embodimentof the piston end cap 52 includes a cap portion 56 and base portion 58.The cap portion 56 may include a threaded portion 60 configured toengage a threaded portion 62 of the base portion 58. The cap portion 56may be mounted on the base portion 58, for example, via threadedportions 60 and 62, to form a housing 64 configured to receive anexpansion agent 34, which may be on the form of, for example, a ball orlump of material (e.g., when the expansion agent is a moldable and/orclay-like material).

Access may be gained to the extinguishing agent chamber 32 of the column28 by removing the end cap 52 from the end 48 of the column 28. The fireextinguishing agent 36, which may be in the form of a cartridge, may beloaded into the extinguishing agent chamber 32 of the column 28.According to some embodiments, the extinguishing agent chamber 32 andthe expansion chamber 30 may be separated from one another by, forexample, a separator 66. The separator 66 may include a timing fuse 67,and the separator 66 may be configured to delay ignition of the fireextinguishing agent 36 via ignition of the expansion agent 34 until suchtime as, for example, the timing fuse 67 burns through and ignites theextinguishing agent 36. The separator 66 may be placed above (e.g., ontop of) the extinguishing agent 36. The expansion agent 34, which may bein the form of a cartridge, may be placed in the housing 64 of thepiston end cap 52, which may be mounted on the end 48 of the column 28.

The cap portion 56 of the piston end cap 52 may define an aperture 68,and an igniter lead 70 (e.g., an electric igniter lead, such as, forexample, an electric match or squib) may extend into the housing 64 ofthe piston end cap 52. The igniter lead 70 may contact (e.g., penetrate)the expansion agent 34. According to some embodiments, a sealingcompound may be present around the igniter lead 70 at the aperture 68.For example, the sealing compound may fill a spherical area locatedaround the igniter lead 70 at the aperture 68. The sealing compound mayinclude one or more of ventex clay, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE),and/or high temperature silicone rubber (RTV). The sealing compound mayserve to reduce or substantially prevent a loss of pressure after theigniter lead 70 has activated the expansion agent 34, such that thecolumn 28 has sufficient force to pierce a barrier, for example, thewall of a container.

The piston end cap 52 may be provided with one or more seals 72, forexample, “O” ring seal(s) (e.g., polymer “O” ring seal(s)) for providinga sealed relationship between the cap portion 56 and the base portion 58of the piston end cap 52. According to some embodiments, one or moreseals 74 (e.g., high temperature-resistant “O” ring seals) may beprovided between the separator 66 and the interior wall of the column28. Furthermore, a dynamic seal 76 may be provided between the mainhousing 14 and the column 28. For example, the dynamic seal 76 may beprovided between the cap portion 56 of the piston end cap 52 and aninterior surface of the main housing 14. The dynamic seal 76 may includeone or more (e.g., two) offset-gap piston ring(s) received by groove(s)in the circumference of the cap portion 56.

According to the exemplary embodiment schematically-depicted, the device10 may be prepared for operation by removing the column 28 from the mainhousing 14. The piston end cap 52 may be removed from the column 28, andfire extinguishing agent 36 may be loaded into the extinguishing agentchamber 32. The cap portion 56 of the piston end cap 52 may be removedand expansion agent 34 may be loaded into the housing 64 partiallyformed by the base portion 58. The igniter lead 70 may be fed through anopening 78 defined, for example, in the end wall 18 of the main housing14 and into the aperture 68 in the cap portion 56 of the piston end cap52. The igniter lead 70 may be embedded in the expansion agent 34, forexample, by molding the expansion agent 34 around a free end of theigniter lead 70, which extends through the aperture 68 of the capportion 56. The cap portion 56 may then be mounted on the base portion58, enclosing the expansion agent 34 in the housing 64 of the piston endcap 52. The one or more seals 72 may provide a substantially airtightseal between the cap portion 56 and the base portion 58. According tosome embodiments, the seal(s) 72 may be allowed to cure prior to use ofthe device 10.

The piston end cap 52 may be mounted on the column 28 via respectivethreaded portions 54 and 50. The end 48 of the column 28 having thepiston end cap 52 mounted thereon may be inserted into the main housing14. As the column 28 is inserted into the main housing 14, the igniterlead 70 may be pulled from the opening 78 in the main housing 14 toprevent excess length of the igniter lead 70 from accumulating betweenthe piston end cap 52 and the end wall 18 of the main housing 14. Oncethe column 28 has been fully inserted into the main housing, theguide/stop 22 may be assembled to the main housing 14 and secured inplace with the retainer 24.

The device 10 may be activated by providing an electric current to theigniter lead 70, thereby igniting the expansion agent 34, asschematically-depicted in FIG. 4. Once the expansion agent 34 has beenignited, the expansion agent 34 generates a pressurized gas 82 that isin flow communication with an upper portion 84 of the hollow cylinder 16of the main housing 14 via the aperture 68 in the cap portion 56. As thepressurized gas increases the pressure between the cap portion 56 andthe end wall 18 of the main housing 14, the column 28 is pushed towardthe opening 20 of the hollow cylinder 16 of the main housing 14, which,in turn, pushes the piercing end 42 of the column 28 with sufficientforce to pierce, for example, a wall of a container (e.g., a top of acargo container, for example, when the device 10 is mounted above acontainer in a cargo area). The guide/stop 22 and the cap portion 56 ofthe piston end cap 52 are configured such that the movement of thecolumn 28 is stopped when the cap portion 56 abuts the guide/stop 22 andprevents the column 28 from separating from the main housing 14. Theexpansion agent 34 may be selected and/or configured, for example, sothat the pressure generated by ignition of the expansion agent 34 doesnot exceed a burst pressure of the device 10.

Ignition of the expansion agent 34 may also result in activation of thetiming fuse 67 at the separator 66. Once the timing fuse 67 burnsthrough to the extinguishing agent chamber 32, the fire extinguishingagent 36 is ignited, which generates a gas that exits the extinguishingchamber 32 of the column 28 via, for example, apertures 44 and/orbaffles 46 (which may serve to cool the fire extinguishing agent 36)into interior of the container that has already been pierced by thepiercing end 42 of the column 28. The gas released into the interior ofthe container may serve to form a gas cloud that may suppress and/orextinguish a fire in the interior of the container by, for example,smothering and/or interfering with the combustion process of the fire inthe container.

According to some embodiments, the device 10 may be configured torelease fire extinguishing agent 36 more than once. For example, thedevice 10 may be configured to release fire extinguishing agent 36 aplurality of times, for example, four to six times. In particular, thedevice 10 may be configured to release fire extinguishing agent 36 on afirst occasion, such that, for example, a fire within a container issuppressed for a period of time ranging from, for example, about 30minutes to about 45 minutes. Thereafter, the device 10 according to someembodiments may be configured to release fire extinguishing agent 36 asecond time, for example, to suppress any fire in the container that hasreignited or flared up as a result of diminishing effects of the fireextinguishing agent 36 released on the first occasion. The device 10 maybe configured to repeat the release of fire extinguishing agent 36 anumber of times at intervals that are either relatively constant or thatvary. For example, the device 10 may include a plurality of supplies(e.g., pellets) of fire extinguishing agent 36 contained within theextinguishing agent chamber 32. Each of the supplies of fireextinguishing agent 36 may be ignited independently of one another atdifferent times via, for example, electronic fuses and/or chemical fusesthat are configured to sequentially ignite the supplies of fireextinguishing agent 36. In this fashion, some embodiments of the device10 may be configured to suppress a fire in a container for an extendedduration of time, for example, up to about 4 hours.

According to some embodiments, the device 10 may be activated remotelyand/or automatically. For example, as schematically-depicted in FIG. 5,one or more detection devices 90 may be used to detect smoke, heat,and/or fire 91 associated with a cargo container 92 in a cargo area 94of an aircraft 96. Such detection device(s) 90 may be configured to senda signal indicative of the detected smoke, heat, and/or fire 91 to acontroller 98 that sends a signal to the device 10 (e.g., to the igniterlead 70, which, in turn, activates the column 28 of the device 10 topierce a wall of the container 92 and deliver the fire extinguishingagent 36 to the interior of the container 92). Alternatively, or inaddition, the signal from the detection device(s) 90 may result in anindication to a flight crew of the detected smoke, heat, and/or fire 91,and the flight crew may manually activate a system that sends a signalto the device 10, which activates the device 10.

Although the exemplary embodiment of the device 10 has been described inrelation to an aircraft, use of the device 10 is not limited to anaircraft. For example, it is contemplated that the device 10 could beused in other environments that might experience a fire in a locationthat might render it impractical for manual application of a fireextinguishing agent and/or on an opposite side of a barrier.

This application also includes an attached document, which discussessome exemplary aspects and examples of optional features.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made to the structure andmethodology described herein. Thus, it should be understood that theinvention is not limited to the subject matter discussed in thespecification. Rather, the present invention is intended to covermodifications and variations.

1-14. (canceled)
 15. A fire suppressant device, comprising: a housing; and an enclosure having a closed end and a piercing end disposed opposite the closed end, wherein the enclosure is at least partially disposed within the housing and configured to enclose a fire extinguishing agent, the enclosure is configured to extend from the housing and pierce a container to deliver the fire extinguishing agent from the enclosure to an inside space of the container.
 16. The fire suppressant device of claim 15, wherein the closed end comprises an end cap configured to engage with one of an outer surface or an inner surface of the enclosure.
 17. The fire suppressant device of claim 16, wherein the outer surface of the column is threaded and the end cap includes a threaded portion configured to engage with the threaded outer surface of the enclosure.
 18. The fire suppressant device of claim 16, wherein the inner surface of the enclosure is threaded and the end cap includes a threaded portion configured to engage with the threaded inner surface of the enclosure.
 19. The fire suppressant device of claim 16, wherein the end cap includes a cap portion and a base portion.
 20. The fire suppressant device of claim 19, further including at least one seal disposed between the cap portion and the base portion.
 21. The fire suppressant device of claim 16, wherein the end cap includes an expansion chamber.
 22. The fire suppressant device of claim 21, wherein the end cap includes an aperture, and an igniter lead extends into the expansion chamber through the aperture.
 23. The fire suppressant device of claim 22, further including a sealing compound disposed around the igniter lead.
 24. The fire suppressant device of claim 21, wherein the expansion chamber includes an expansion agent.
 25. The fire suppressant device of claim 24, wherein one of the expansion agent and the fire extinguishing agent includes a pyrotechnic charge.
 26. The fire suppressant device of claim 21, wherein the expansion chamber includes a timing fuse that extends into the enclosure.
 27. The fire suppressant device of claim 26, wherein the expansion chamber and the enclosure are separated by a separator and the timing fuse extends through the separator.
 28. The fire suppressant device of claim 15, wherein the fire extinguishing agent is disposed in a cartridge disposed in the enclosure.
 29. The fire suppressant device of claim 15, wherein the enclosure further includes at least one of an aperture or a baffle.
 30. The fire suppressant device of claim 29, wherein the at least one of the aperture or the baffle is disposed adjacent to the piercing end.
 31. An area, comprising: at least one container; and at least one fire suppressant device disposed in the area and configured to extinguish a fire associated with the at least one container, the at least one fire suppressant device including: a housing; and an enclosure having a closed end and a piercing end disposed opposite the closed end, wherein the enclosure is at least partially disposed within the housing and configured to enclose a fire extinguishing agent, the enclosure is configured to extend from the housing and pierce a container to deliver the fire extinguishing agent from the enclosure to an inside space of the container.
 32. The area of claim 31, wherein the closed end comprises an end cap configured to engage with one of an outer surface or an inner surface of the enclosure.
 33. The area of claim 31, wherein the housing includes a stop structure configured to prevent the enclosure from being separated from the housing.
 34. The vehicle of claim 31, wherein the enclosure further includes at least one of an aperture or a baffle disposed adjacent the piercing end. 